Rob Tillett has been an astrologer for more than three decades. In previous incarnations a poet, musician, magician, healer, dramatist & composer, he is the editor and publisher of Astrology on the Web and has written many articles on this website.
Rob lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia.
Moon's Nodes Change Sign in 2009 shifting the Karmic Load...
Rob Tillett, astrologer and founder of Astrology on the Web, examines the effects of the Moon's Nodes changing sign from Aquarius/Leo to Capricorn/Cancer in July/August 2009. The Moon's Nodes are a powerful karmic force in the zodiac, which change sign every 18 months or so, marking profound changes on the world. This change of sign moves the Dragon's Head into Capricorn, the sign of the Sea-Goat, marking a new set of drives for the world, as dark Pluto, Lord of Transformation, is retrograde but settling into Capricorn too, for the first time since 1788.
In astrology, the Moon's Nodes (the Dragon's Head and Tail) are not planets in the strict astronomical sense, but rather sensitive points on the ecliptic, where the Moon crosses from south to north latitude and vice versa. The body of the "energy dragon" is the fourth-dimensional path of the Moon by declination, as she weaves her web around the earth.
The nodes are also known as the Dragon's Head (Caput Draconis), the North Node, and Dragon's Tail (Cauda Draconis), the South Node, although in Indian Astrology they are known as Rahu and Ketu. In mythology, this Dragon sought to devour the Sun, the life-force, and the Moon, the emotional being, thus explaining the eclipses. There is a good deal we can learn from a deep consideration of this myth.
The North Node, the Dragon's Head, is called the ascending node, because it marks the point where the Moon crosses the ecliptic from southern to northern celestial latitudes, and the South Node is called the descending node, marking the descent from northern to southern latitudes. All the planets have nodes except the Sun and the Earth, but the Moon's Nodes are by far the most significant, in terms of human destiny. For more on the nodes, please click here.
Constructive Power
The movement of the nodes is normally retrograde, so from June 7 (at the Full Moon in Sagittarius) to August 21, 2009, the Moon's true north node, the Dragon's Head, will be in the first degree of Aquarius, the intellectual sign of the Water-Bearer. This degree holds the powerful Fixed Star, Tarazed, the Plundering Falcon, a fortunate star that is active in President Obama's chart, and has recently been stimulated by transiting Jupiter at his inauguration and at the previous eclipse. Tarazed thrives through spoil and plunder, enabling imagination, strong passions, will and even clairvoyance, awakening fame and a powerful mind. This phase will present a potent eclipse cycle, bounded on July 7 by the Lunar Eclipse at the Full Moon at 15°24' Capricorn and a second Lunar Eclipse at the Full Moon at 13°43 Aquarius on August 6, encompassing a total Solar Eclipse at the New Moon at Cancer 29°27' on July 22 – just before the Mean Node changes sign from Aquarius to Capricorn on July 26/27.
Because the nodes are an axis, this places the Dragon's Tail in conjunction with the Moon at the eclipse, a karmic and predetermined event that does not augur well for the world. The south node brings into focus commitments from the past and the Moon stands for the public, for emotional experience and for domestic concerns, especially those of home country, women and the family. Notwithstanding, the chart for the actual ingress of the Mean Node into Capricorn is favourable, as luscious Venus in communicative Gemini forms a beautiful trine aspect with fortunate Jupiter in determined Aquarius. At the same time, the Moon in balanced Libra forms a potent trine with dynamic Mars in Gemini, creating a flurry of communication.
On August 21 the True Node changes sign to Capricorn, after an eighteen-month stint in Aquarius. Note that the Moon's Mean Node leaves Aquarius on July 27, 2009, preparing the way for the True Node to make the jump some weeks later. Astrologers have traditionally used the mean position for the node, as before the development of computers, the true position was too hard to calculate. It could be argued that the mean position is more appropriate, but I have been using the True Node for many years now and have found it to have the advantage.
At 07:27 UT (Universal Time, formerly GMT) on August 21, the True Node enters Capricorn, heralding a substantial change in direction of the collective, marked primarily by a movement away from an intellectual focus on the longer-term goals of harmony on Earth, aligned with unorthodox, technological solutions to our problems towards a more formal concern with standards and traditions and finding ways of stabilising our political and economic wellbeing, using a more conservative approach.
The Moon's True Node oscillates according to the Moon's "wobble". This is caused by the gravitational effects of the Earth/Moon interaction, so the True Node sometimes has periods of direct motion. The Mean Node averages this "wobble" out, so is always retrograde.
How Does the Movement of the Nodes Affect Each Sign?
He notes that this degree is providential, original, intelligent and displays a creative imagination, but warns that there is a danger of complacency, even fatalism, self-centred haughtiness and idle daydreaming. When this degree is activated, hackneyed ideas are cast aside, but a firm intent is required, lest the opportunities offered be squandered or slide away just out of reach, so that others gain from them.
As the Fiery Dragon swoops from his Aery heights to settle on solid Earth, we are due for a rapid realisation of karmic debts that have accumulated and must be repaid before this cycle ends. Hence we can expect dramatic developments with regard to the position of the nodes in your own chart, as well as in the world at large through the effects on the charts of countries and their leaders.
Karma is not just a mindless force, though the energies of the nodes do tend to bring out the unconscious side of things, but is a force that is designed to wake us up and shake us into a new state of awareness. Here is a brief commentary for each sign, with the current crisis point noted (due as the karma matures this July/August) and the side of life that will provide karmic experience in the period between July 2009 and March 2011.
Fixed Signs
Mutable Signs
Cardinal Signs
Aquarius
Crisis: relationships; self vs other; need to act Year Ahead: learn to trust; increase compassion; release fear
Pisces
Crisis: hidden issues; government & institutions; health; self-esteem Year Ahead: romance; self-expression; speculation; financial growth
Aries
Crisis: true friendship; wants vs needs; over-dramatising Year Ahead: public image; home vs career; family relationships
Taurus
Crisis: domestic situation; career direction; release the past Year Ahead: travel; education; information overload
Gemini
Crisis: overstimulation; logic vs intuition; doubt; commitment Year Ahead: need for transformation; blinkered values; resisting change
Cancer
Crisis: clinging to possessions; security; role of others Year Ahead: excessive competition; partner's demands; overloaded instincts
Leo
Crisis: lack of perspective; rash action; self-centred; health Year Ahead: practicality; overcoming anxiety; clear goals; focused mind
Virgo
Crisis: missed deadlines; health; used by others Year Ahead: too reliant on others; finding own path; taking risks
Libra
Crisis: emotional detachment; fear of standing out; alienate others Year Ahead: need for control; public vs private; career demands
Scorpio
Crisis: too rigid; family direction; public status Year Ahead: self-righteous; opinionated; listen to others
Sagittarius
Crisis: arrogance; rush to judgement; lack sensitivity Year Ahead: needs of others; creating crises; balanced goals
Capricorn
Crisis: personal values; confusion; denial of self Year Ahead: indecision; co-dependence; balanced partnership; intense competition
The effects of the transiting Nodes often seem somehow inevitable and fated. This simple Sun Sign table treats this transit as though you were born at sunrise, thus affecting the 1st and 7th houses of your chart. It takes no account of the effects the Nodes may have upon the mid-heaven (MC) and the IC (4th house cusp), the Moon or any other sensitive point in your chart. If you know your rising sign, you can use it to gain a little insight, but it would be best to obtain a personalised reading from your favourite astrologer, which you can order via our order form. The effects of the transiting Nodes on anyone's life, but particularly upon the collective consciousness of the world, are profound and truly significant. Forewarned is forearmed.
Aquarius
Pisces
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
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